Document Management Solutions: Sharepoint Allows You to Go Paperless

No matter the size of your business or what you do on a daily basis – eventually the towers of paper files and documents will get too much. Instead of slaving away filing documents and then toiling for ages to find them again, filing in the traditional sense is a thing of the past with a digital document management solution (DMS).

A DMS is a system used to track and store digital documents. The DMS enables companies to store their files in digital format for fast retrieval and modification. The most famous of these is Microsoft SharePoint.

Usually, organisations use Microsoft SharePoint to create websites and intranets, but it can actually also be used as a safe place to store, organise, share and access information from almost any device. All you need is a web browser, e.g. Internet Explorer, Chrome or Firefox.

SharePoint actually covers a broad spectrum of products and technologies, which can be divided as follows:

SharePoint Online: A cloud-based service, hosted by Microsoft, for businesses of all sizes. Instead of installing and deploying a SharePoint server on-site, any business can subscribe to an Office 365 plan or to the standalone SharePoint Online service. Your employees can create sites to share documents and information with colleagues, partners and customers.

SharePoint Foundation: SharePoint Foundation is the underlying technology for all SharePoint sites. SharePoint Foundation (formerly Windows SharePoint Services) is free for on-site deployment. You can use SharePoint Foundation to create many types of sites where you can collaborate on webpages, documents, lists, calendars and data.

SharePoint Server: Organisations can deploy and manage a SharePoint server on-site. It includes all the features of SharePoint Foundation as well as offering additional features and capabilities such as enterprise content management, business intelligence, enterprise search, personal sites and newsfeed.

Resolve Immix’s core offering of end-to-end Information Management andSharePoint Solutions together with specialties in Intranets, Enterprise Content Management and Business Process orchestration are our distinguishing factors. Within our focused areas we offer value propositions that unlock and maximise SharePoint investments with specialisations and capabilities in key business and technology practices.

How it can benefit you

You decide where to store your documents

DMSs can be hosted on-site or in the cloud.

An on-site solution will require some resources in IT as well as someone who can learn all about the DMS to ensure it is implemented properly, updated and that the digital assets are applied in the proper manner.

If you opt for a cloud-based system, you will need to have someone catalogue the assets into the DMS ensuring they make use of the appropriate features to ensure that your organisation can call the files in a timely manner. This will require some planning and having someone in your company who is responsible for installing (if on-site), configuring and implementing the DMS to meet your company’s needs.

Remember to do testing

It is recommended that the features are tested before implementation. The files are scanned into digital format, enabling easy storage in addition to retrieval.

You have a few options in transferring the physical documents into digital files.

Scanning: It’s is preferable to use a scanner or solution that uses optical character recognition (OCR). This is the mechanical or electronic conversion of scanned or photographed images of typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded/computer-readable text. If you use OCR with a DMS, you can query the system for keywords contained in the various files that are stored in your DMS.

Converting to PDF: Converting your documents to PDF before storing them in the DMS means that you can easily retrieve the PDFs to combine, reuse or revise at a later date.

Document management solutions such as Sharepoint can help to streamline your business and ensure that there’s no more time wasted while searching for hardcopy documents. With Sharepoint, it’s bye-bye filing cabinets and hello saving paper!

Resolve Immix is a leading South African provider of Microsoft solutions, including SharePoint. We have consulted and deployed solutions with leading national and international companies. Our strength and ability to predictably deliver successful and cost-effective projects resides first and foremost in that we have an absolute passion for what we do!

Our focus is with a solid planning and delivery methodology based on industry best practices that support a proven track record of solution strategy, development, implementation and adoption. Resolve Immix’s core offering of end-to-end information management and SharePoint solutions together with specialties in intranets, enterprise content management and business process orchestration are our distinguishing factors. Within our focused areas we offer value propositions that unlock and maximise SharePoint investments with specialisations and capabilities in key business and technology practices.

We do not only bring the right SharePoint technology skills and expertise, but also an intuitive understanding of organisational intelligence and the human and business processes that unlock value and fundamentally drive business success. Our diverse team is certified by international industry standards and hold various academic records.

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